Destiny
by Rizu Komesu
Summary: Seto Kaiba, after the chaos of ancient Egypt has finally settled, finds a strange email in his inbox. Upon responding to it, he gets sucked into the Duel Monsters Realm! Will he rise to become the leader of the Dragon Tribe? Please R&R!
1. Origins

"... Hey... Wake up..."

Light... There was light all around him. Why? He was in his office, wasn't he? It was night, wasn't it? So why was there so much daylight? It was... Confusing. If it weren't for the fact that his head was pounding into his ears, he'd swear it was some sort of dream...

"Wake up... Hey, wake up..."

A voice... No, that couldn't be right. He was alone at the office and that wasn't a voice he'd ever heard before. Was the voice mail on? He must have fallen asleep at his desk and fallen onto the floor... Jeez, did the floor ever feel soft. Almost like a mattress... He knew his office had great carpet but he never noticed how soft it was befo-

"Hey, I told you to wake up! You can't sleep forever!"

"Nhhn..." Grumbled the teenager as he opened his eyes entirely, only now registering that no, he really wasn't in his office anymore. What in the...?! He jumped to his feet then, looking around already. This had to be a dream; this didn't look like his office at all, no it looked like some far off land. Some medieval bed chamber with decorations, sort of like what a royal or a noble would have slept in back then. There was a woman in strange armour in front of him, grinning at him when he yelled, "What the hell is going on? What kind of dream-"

"It's no dream, Seto. You accepted the challenge and now, you're here in Espia. Come on, everyone is waiting!"

Challenge? What challenge? "What in the world are you talking about, woman? Where is this and _why_ am I not in my office?" He was losing his patience and the fact that this woman wore that same goddamn smile didn't help one bit.

"Seto," That caused the young Kaiba's temper to flare even more, "I'm surprised you don't remember. You accepted the challenge yourself, it should be your last memory. Is your mind really so poor that you can't remember a simple thing like that?"

"I still don't..." It was then that Kaiba had the nagging feeling that he was forgetting something, actually taking a moment to toy with the idea. At least, until it finally hit him and he started to remember everything that had happened, or at least what seemed to be the important parts; He _was_ in his office before. He had just been sitting there checking his email when...

_The blank screen lit up with life as it came out of sleep mode, the usual login screen popping up before him. Familiar keys typed up the hidden characters of his password and the computer continued loading up, faster than any normal computer should. But then, it was something he had built himself; of course it would be superior to anything the stores could sell him. It made him wonder just that Mokuba had seen in all of those useless contraptions that were sold on the market when anything he made was ten times - nay, one hundred times superior in every thinkable aspect. But that was a thought process for another day. Right now, work had to be done._

_The virtual world system 3.0 would have to be released soon now that all of the bull shit with Ancient Egypt, Pharaohs and Magic was done and over with. Revenge against Yuugi Motou and the title 'King of Games' could wait. Even further construction of Kaiba Land in North America could wait. He needed something to enjoy himself with... A new virtual world that hadn't been tampered with, for once. Wait a minute..._

_There was an odd email in his inbox._

_Gently the teenager clicked away at the mouse, almost as if revering just the delicate piece of technology he was holding in the palm of his hand while he watched the small arrow follow his command, expanding his inbox's window to the entirety of the screen. Most of it was junk, some advertisements for odd websites and materials and others leading to lewd celebrity web pages (he'd have to hack into those later to infect them with a virus seeing as his name popped up quite a few times). There was also a message about a board meeting from one of his new executives in there and there was an email from Mokuba asking about plans for that evening. And yet, he ignored them all in favour of this one email. It was odd, to say the least. The sender was unfamiliar, upon seeing it he was almost tempted to label it as garbage, and yet..._

_Kaiba never clicked that junk button. Instead, he decided he was curious enough to open at see what it had to say. If it was viral, his scanners would have picked it up by now anyway._

_The subject, appropriately so, was labelled '__**Destiny**__.' When he first began reading it, it just seemed like an odd fan fiction based around the card game Pegasus J. Crawford had created, the game which Kaiba considered himself an expert and the rightful champion. His eyes fluttered about the pale white with contrasting black text as he absorbed the story, the words even now ringing clear as Sunday church bells (despite being text and him only reading it as opposed to hearing it);_

_**"The monsters of the Realm, for eons, have lived peacefully amongst each other, despite slight disagreements within each tribe. The ruler over all, King Exodia, continued to use a gentle fist over the land, in general keeping the peace and reaching mutual consensus among all of the monster tribes, from the humble plants to the mightiest warriors. For many millennia, this worked to maintain peace and prosperity among the tribes, a leader for each being chosen to be put on political council in order to represent the others.**_

_**Alas, this was not to last.**_

_**The Dragons never picked a true leader for their tribe, merely having the three elders, the siblings Blue Eyes White Dragon, choosing who would attend each gathering and discussing their own tribe matters amongst themselves. Although no one outright objected to this set up, the spell casters and King Exodia himself knew better. They knew that the dragon leaders planned an uprising, a coup de tat against the King and against the rest of the Duel Monsters world. The spell casters, not wishing to lose their power and influence over the Realm they inhabited, pleaded with their ruler to limit the power of the dragons; either they picked one leader or left their power in the hands of another tribe. It was a plan that would only end in violence, gore and sorrow, King Exodia knew this well. So, rather than appeasing either the Dragon Tribe or the Spell Caster Tribe's demands, he came to another decision.**_

_**A sentry of the Warrior Tribe, the Black Luster Soldier, was chosen to inhabit the human world. King Exodia knew her-"**_

_"I thought the Black Luster Soldier was a male monster," Kaiba frowned thoughtfully as he stopped reading there, shaking his head and sighing heavily at himself. Of course it was; this was just some crazy fan fiction some idiot sent to him. He'd have to change his email address if some buffoon like this could get their hands on it so easily. And yet, he couldn't bring himself to stop reading for long. Once again Seto Kaiba glued his eyes onto the screen and continued to read._

_**"King Exodia knew her well; despite the Warrior Tribe's allegiance with both the Dragons and the Spell Casters, the Black Luster Soldier was not only a good judge of one's heart but a just mind, knowing that this madness behind their peace could not continue lest they wish to prevent loss in the Realm. The sentry, for many a year, dutifully inhabited the human world, eyes kept in particular on one human being; one man, the only man known to mediate between the three Blue Eyes White Dragons and gain control over them, successfully harmonizing them with the powers of the other tribes in his battles. The man who made three become one, the man who had promoted unity in the Dragon Tribe more than any other. One Seto Kaiba."**_

_Kaiba stopped reading again and blinked at the brightly-lit screen in disbelief, eyes looking over the exact words a couple of more times. No, it wasn't a cruel joke; that was his name. He'd have to get his best lawyer on suing this person into the poor house! The use of his name would not be tolerated in such... Garbage! The white triangle was almost at the 'delete' button of the email, but he couldn't bring himself to click it. No matter how much he willed himself to, his finger simply wouldn't press down against the mouse's key to complete the action of deleting this email. The obsession, the craving to read this through to the end was almost consuming him in its entirety, almost as bad as when he felt the bitter sting of defeat the first time against Yuugi Motou. No, worse. Unconsciously, before the teenager could even stop himself, his eyes were dead-locked onto the screen to continue reading the story before him._

_**"Though this person was not the most pure or kind, the Black Luster Soldier easily saw the qualities of leadership and power in this man. A man truly fit to lead the tribe of Dragons, at long last, had arrived. With this man in mind the warrior continued her observation of him, growing ever more convinced that he would be the one to become a true Dragon. At long last, when he had accomplished the task of guiding the Pharaoh Atemu of the human world to his final resting place, the first attempt at contact was made.**_

_**The story continues the moment the man responds to his call. Are you up to the challenge, Seto Kaiba?"**_

_He stared at the last line, looking further down the screen to see if there was any more. There wasn't. So that was where it ended, huh? Typical, an incomplete work... And this person dared to challenge him? Who the hell did they think they were? It was probably that idiot Jonouchi playing a prank on him, wanting a bad reaction out of him. And yet it was too well-written to be Jonouchi... He probably had Yuugi helping him. Or, more than likely, it was Pegasus trying to mess with his head again. Sigh. Well, there was only one thing he could do, in this case. Kaiba's fingers flew across the keyboard once he had clicked the reply button, the simple sentence appearing near-instantly as his mouse moved to the reply button, "I accept your challenge."_

_Click. The moment he had clicked that icon, that accursed icon, everything became white. The light from the computer screen became near-blinding and engulfed the room, Kaiba having raised his arms to shield his eyes. This had to be some sort of computer virus, how else could it have made one of his machines act up like this? He scowled to himself at the thought, thinking that he needed to work on a better virus protection program for his computer once it was done shining. But - slowly and surely - he found was no longer sitting down; wind caressed his every feature and caused his trench coat to blow noisily behind him as he plunged forward, white quickly fading into an assortment of blues, greys and blacks with nothing but a white pinpoint at the end of the tunnel. Head towards the light... This had to be some sort of bizarre dream._

_A dream that seemed far too real to only be as such, when he broke through the light again everything became black..._

Before he had woken up in this place.

"What kind of twisted joke is this? I want to know who came up with this stupid excuse for a prank! It was Pegasus, wasn't it? Pegasus, this isn't funny!" Kaiba growled, feeling his entire body bristle while he looked around. There weren't any cameras, hell there wasn't even a single piece of filming equipment in sight; all there seemed to be in this room were a bed, some decorations and a woman wearing strange armour. Wait... That armour was the same kind the Black Luster Soldier duel monsters card wore. This was a sick joke; it had to be a sick joke that Pegasus was-

"Seto Kaiba, it isn't a joke. You responded to the electronic message I sent you in the human world, accepting the task set before you. You've been sleeping for three days since then, I suppose it was a side-effect from the dimensional travel. Now, will you come with me to meet with the dragon elders or would you rather take some more time to adjust?" Asked the woman, helmet shifted from beneath her arms to be held in both of her hands. What in the hell...?

"How much is that crack pot paying you to do this? Let me out of this simulation _right now_ or I swear-"

The woman sighed at him, shaking her head and clapping a hand to it. Her smile faded into a rather irritated frown when she said, "I knew you had a history of magic denial but I didn't think it was _this_ bad. Will you don the ceremonial robes and come out to greet the elders, please? I promise you that I will explain exactly what is going on once you do."

He was going to kill that man once he got out of this simulation, this was the second time he had been trapped within it! Snarling, the teenager finally turned to the woman and then saw that, behind her on an ornate chair, were some white and pale blue robes, along with some armour that he assumed was for him. Fine... He'd play along for now, but only until he got some answers. Logical answers that had nothing to do with fairies and magical dimensional vortexes and fan fictions gone horribly, horribly wrong to be exact, "Fine, but leave. Even if this is a dream, I'm not stripping for a woman who obviously belongs in the nut house."

The woman sighed at him again, giving him a flat stare and nodding silently before her armour clanked, signalling that she was leaving the room. The door's final slam allowed Kaiba to go about changing his clothes until he had, somehow, worked through the large mass of cloth that could barely be called clothing. A glance in the mirror told him, upon sight, that he looked completely ridiculous. He had to admit that he liked the dragon-esque armour, coloured white with blue tints that reminded him so much of his favourite Duel Monster and gleaming with the sunlight that poured into the room from the grand windows that over-looked this place. Huh... He actually hadn't taken a look out the window yet. All he had time for since waking up was bitching at the insane woman in fancy armour and wondering where he was. Well, there was no better time than now to take a look at the crazy world he had been sucked into.

A swift, flowing movement and the young Kaiba was at the window, eyes taking in the splendour of the area below him. And, upon seeing this, it made him all the more convinced that this was either a stupid prank from Pegasus or him somehow testing a new virtual world simulation with him forgetting about stepping into the virtual holder. But it didn't matter which way the cards went as he took in the sight, for even he had to admit...

It was a truly magnificent sight. Everywhere there were duel monsters, this place (wherever he was) was on a hill side so he had a perfect view of the ivory-marble structures, both residential and community alike. It was almost bizarre, how modern and yet how ancient this culture was... But of course, only his imagination could come up with something so-

"Are you done in there, Seto? You're being awfully quiet."

Immediately the teenager tensed and growled in response; he had had _enough_ of this woman acting like she was familiar with him in any way, "Yes I'm done. And stop calling me Seto, you are not that familiar with me."

"I'm sorry, would you rather I call you Kaiba like so many of your peers? Or would 'his royal majesty the Dragon Lord' suffice?" Fantastic, now she was mocking him. Kaiba stormed towards the door and swung it open, glaring at the woman directly in her rich brown eyes. Eyes that blinked at him and looked him over before she nodded in approval, "I'm glad the robes and armour fit so well on you, considering that we had them custom made with our tailors and smiths the moment you arrived. Now come; everyone is waiting."

_Pegasus is going to die for this._ Inwardly the murderous thoughts of Seto Kaiba brewed as he straightened, nodding and numbly following the strange woman until they were at a set of heavy, marble doors. As soon as they had arrived, said doors opened slowly, Kaiba blinking at the sight of three Blue Eyes White Dragons on the left side of the hall (along with an assortment of other creatures he assumed to also be dragons, he'd name them but that would be a waste of effort for a prank), familiar spell casters such as the Dark Magician, Silent Magician and the Magician of Black Chaos littering the other side of the hall. In the very center at the other end, however, was the most mind-boggling sight he had taken in all day; there, sitting in a massive throne, was Exodia the Forbidden One in its complete form. Even for Pegasus this was elaborate, hell even for his simulations it was completely ridiculous. In fact, in the teenager's shock he only just barely heard the words coming from the Black Luster Soldier's mouth.

"Dragons, Spell Casters, my great lord Exodia! Today, I present to you the fruits of the labours I have taken in the human world! Today, before you, is the candidate I believe can peacefully rule over the Dragon Tribe and bring unity to not only the dragons but to the entire Realm! Today, I bring before you... Seto Kaiba!"

* * *

Hey, Rizu here. If you've seen this up on here before, that's because I removed it and re-wrote the fic to get rid of the inconsistencies that it had before, as well as to fix the sentence structures I had problems with. And, as for where this is in the Yu-Gi-Oh time line... It's after the first group ends, just after all the stuff in Egypt is done and Atemu has gone to rest in peace if you couldn't catch that while reading the fic. And, lastly, I'm going with the anime versions of what has happened, meaning that Pegasus is STILL ALIVE (since he appeared in the Orichalcos Doom arc) and Kaiba went to Egypt and got sucked into Pharaoh Atemu's memory with everyone else. I know, chapter's on a cliff hanger, if this goes well then Chapter 2 (the re-write) shall be up too. Until then, stay frosty!


	2. Impressions

Surprise, another chapter! Although the first two don't need much of an overhaul, I'm going to have to take a lot more care with the third so it will take longer for an update after that. I do not normally update this quickly so don't expect me to after that. I'll try and keep it on a weekly update but we'll see just how well that turns out.

And, as a tip to all you writers to be out there... Just let your imagination go. This was originally supposed to be a crack fic made to torture Kaiba (I always torture the characters I love, bite me) but turned into something a bit more serious, for example. If you let your imagination fly you'll often find that it's your best work (my friends and I are testament to this) so take an idea and run with it, even if you have no idea where it's going to go. If you want to finish something it's great to have an ending in mind, don't get me wrong. But who says you can't have a lot of fun with the journey along the way? And, with that, I'll allow you to go onto the chapter. Stay Frosty, readers!

* * *

There was no way this was real. It just seemed so... So cheesy that only Pegasus could have come up with it and think it was funny.

For the record, it wasn't.

Before Kaiba could even think of a retort or threatening word to this whole thing however, the low rumbling voice that could have only come from Exodia boomed in his ears thanks to the acoustics in the grand hall, "Black Luster Soldier, I thank you for bringing the candidate from the human world to us. You have no idea how we've waited for the Dragon Tribe to at long last take on a true leader-"

"The tribe is in need of no such thing! Lord Exodia, it is an outrage that you distrust my brethren with a duty we've had for centuries! You dare take some puny, spoiled Human from the other world to rule over us? We will not stand for this insulting gesture!" A voice from the left side of the hall rang, one that was distinctly female and drew Kaiba's attention straight away. Only, when he looked, there seemed to be something missing.

Weren't there just three Blue Eyes White Dragons over there? One... Two... No. He didn't see the third. However, when the voice spoke again he had seen where the third dragon had gone; There was a pale woman with long, blue flowing hair, rich blue eyes and white scales trailing up her face and down twin bare arms over there now in place of the third Blue Eyes. She wore robes similar to his but no armour (and no backing as twin, leathery white wings protruded from her shoulder blades), so suddenly he didn't feel completely out of place. She was barely older than her mid-twenties, yet she was supposed to be a dragon 'elder'? Of course, this was a prank Pegasus was pulling. That rich bastard would do anything to make it convincing enough for him to bite before pulling the punch line and yet he would characteristically make a foul-up like this...

"What proof is there to show the merit of this human? We only have the word of the Black Luster Soldier, and as trust worthy as she is that isn't nearly enough to-"

"Lady Mia, I believe you've spoken enough against the king. Or need I remind you that his judgement is law?" An older mage stepped forward, from what he could tell it was the Dark Sage, the creature that showed up in place of the Dark Magician whenever Time Wizard created a time warp successfully...

The woman growled and glared at Kaiba before she stepped back and, in a flash of brilliant white light, was standing once more in her natural form. Claws, teeth, the inability to speak, he almost preferred her like this. She was too chatty and bitchy, almost like she was on her-

"Ryu, the lady does bring up a fair point in whatever arrogance you may see in her outburst. Though the word of the Black Luster Soldier is a trustworthy one to us all, he will need to go through many a trial before he is ready to take his place as the Dragon Tribe's lord," Exodia's voice rumbled again as he looked across the hall, silencing the commotion that had been brought up before once again turning his gaze onto Kaiba (unintentionally he shuddered in response), "She has informed me that you have accepted the task set before you, young Seto-"

"How much is he paying you all to do this?"

Every set of eyes was now on him the moment he had spoken, right before an acutely-brutal pain shot up through his foot and his attention was turned to the Black Luster Soldier beside him. She was glaring at him before she turned back to the court, a weak smile on her features when she said, "Please excuse him, he only woke up earlier this morning. He must still be too exhausted from the dimensional travel to comprehend-"

"Cut the crap already and send me home. This isn't funny," Kaiba's eyes narrowed as he stepped forward (despite the throbbing pain in his foot, the crazy one probably sprained something in it from stomping on it so hard) and looked around, eyes narrowed in annoyance and disgust. This had become insanely tiring all too quickly; whoever had signed on for this was either holding a severe death wish or had better have a damn good lawyer, "I don't care for this magical realm bull shit or leader of the Dragon Tribe trials, and make a note that the next time I see Pegasus, I'm going to wring his neck for this stupid prank. Magic, fairies, monsters... I applaud the special effects but this insanity has gone on long enough."

Deathly silence overtook the hall for a mere moment before he heard that wretched shriek, "You _dare_ mock us and our very existence, mortal? I don't care who everyone says you are! You are nothing more than an idiotic _human_! I refuse to tolerate you as the leader of our noble tribe!"

Before he could even blink the female dragon was once again in her more human form, standing in front of him with clawed nails at his throat. It took every ounce of self-control not to follow the screaming instincts to jump away from the young woman while he looked at her dead in the eye. Pegasus must have hired some really good actors for this joke because he almost felt the murderous intent bubbling off of her.

"Mia, control your temper! Your action is far too rash!" Another dragon-human had appeared (more than likely one of her brothers), equally long blue hair flailing about as he struggled to hold her back and away from Kaiba while the third brother - having also abandoned his dragon form in favour of the more mobile human one, an identical twin of his brother – approached Exodia until he was before the large creature and kneeling down before it.

"Forgive her, your majesty. She, like my brother Meir and I, rather dislikes the idea of our power being so abruptly taken away. Though it is no excuse for her behaviour, I ask for your benevolence and understanding."

"It is granted, but it makes me think that leaving him under the care of the three dragons at this point wouldn't be the most wise of decisions," Exodia chuckled at the turn of events, earning himself a glare from the female dragon but paying it no mind, "Though you often are the most rational of the three Marcius, I doubt even you would be able to hold your temper for long against this one."

"Such a human being is not fit to rule the dragons! He himself doesn't want to be here, why not send him back to the pit where he came from?"

"Mia!"

"Easy, Meir," Somehow, it was creepy to see Exodia the Forbidden One smiling. And yet, while they continued to converse Kaiba couldn't help but have his attention drawn to the right side of the room. In particular, one he could only assume to be the Dark Magician Girl, seeing as she was the only one not shooting him a death glare for mouthing off at Exodia. She looked just as uncomfortable as he did... Just as out of place. He had to wonder...

"Young Seto Kaiba, you will be allowed some time to adjust to our Realm before you begin your trials to become the Dragon Lord. A fortnight should do it... During this time, I decree that you will be living in the abode of the Black Luster Soldier as she is the one who brought you here. That and she is the only one not likely to end your life within the next twenty-four hours for your rather coarse tongue."

A joke at his expense. How cute. Kaiba pointedly glared at Exodia then. He didn't care how big the damn thing was, in fact he hated it ever since it first appeared against him in that one duel. Of course it was no surprise that, with that kind of power, he was ruling over every-fucking-thing. But for him to mock Kaiba like this...

"It would be an honour, your majesty. Do we have the grant to take our leave at this time?" Again, before Kaiba could even think about saying a word the Black Luster Soldier intervened, stepping forward in a near-defensive gesture in front of him. Pegasus really didn't know where to stop in this stupid prank, did he? Oh sigh.

"You may. We have seen enough of the young man for this day. May your trip home be a safe one."

A few parting words and the two were leaving the front hall, the quiet boom of the doors closing behind them a signal for the Black Luster Soldier to start shooting her mouth off at him, "What were you _thinking_? Lady Mia really was two seconds away from tearing out your throat! If you had just waited it would have been all right for you to speak but that was-"

"I've had enough of this nonsense. This is a ridiculous waste of time, so why don't you stop this prank, send me home and let me be?"

"Do you have _any_ idea on just how dense you sound? You were a complete embarrassment and made a terrible first impression on the court, both of yourself and of my judgement in picking you from every possible candidate there was!"

"I never agreed to be your dragon messiah or whatever the hell you want to call it, just send me h-"

"You _did_."

The woman was glaring at him now, eyes narrowed before she turned away and began walking ahead. Kaiba had stopped in his tracks upon hearing those words, and as if in response to his halt the woman stopped too, looking over her shoulder to give Kaiba what must have been the iciest look she could muster when she hissed, "You had the opportunity to say no as well, when you got that electronic message in the human world. Or did you think that an honest plea for help to stop the outbreak of civil war was nothing more than a childish jest?"

Deafening quiet fell over them as Kaiba stared – nay, gawked at the warrior creature in front of him. This shit... It didn't start happening until he had agreed to this 'challenge,' now that he thought about it. But this was... He only answered yes to spite whoever was sending him that stupid email. He was planning on making this absolutely no fun for Pegasus, and yet... Was this woman really simply acting out a set of lines and pretending to look so infuriated and pained? He couldn't really think of _anyone_ who was that good...

Somehow, apologizing to the crazy woman seemed like a good idea right about now.

"Fine, you're right. I agreed to do this, you've got me there," Sighed Kaiba, arms crossing over his chest as he saw the woman raise her eyebrows in surprise and turn back to him. Good, he had her attention again, that'd make getting this over with a lot easier, "I'll go along with it until whatever impending doom is stopped, but _then_ you're sending me home. I refuse to stay a minute longer than necessary in the loony bin."

She sighed at him again, a weak smile appearing on her surprisingly delicate features while nodding in agreement, "As long as you help stop the war the Dragon Elders are planning. If you can get at least one of them to voice their discontent with the plan, the three will never be able to organize their kinsmen long enough to try and take on the Spell Caster Tribe and King Exodia."

"Whatever. Can I wear my normal clothes now? It's impossible to move in these table cloths you call robes."

This provoked a laugh from her (along with the rising intent to strangle her from inside of Kaiba but he restrained himself for the time being), shaking her head and beckoning the teenager forward with one heavily-adorned gloved hand, "Come on now, Kaiba. We've imposed on King Exodia's hospitality long enough; it's time to show you where you'll be staying for the next two weeks."

It took at least an hour for the two to trek from Exodia's Palace to the Black Luster's Soldier's luxurious mansion, Seto's eyes taking in the sight of the magnificent stone structure. Every curve, every indent, all of it was what could only be the finest ivory-toned marble, each stone looking so similar and yet so different from the last in their increasingly intricate design. It contrasted perfectly with rich, green grass that grew around the borders of the walls and the house itself, lining the gardens in a manner that could only suite someone of noble heritage. And yet, the signs of shrubs, bushes and flowers being partially butchered suggested that this place was often used as a training ground, but somehow the marble didn't seem to bare a single scratch of combat.

Fine, he could do time here.

"This way. I'll have the servants escort you to your quarters now, but please try to be gentle on them; they've been excited to see you coming here so acting like your usual self would ruin the experience," Kaiba gave the woman a pointed glare again before he was escorted by what seemed to be the Crimson Sentry to his new room. Soon enough he learned that her name was Rayna (stupid girl was so chatty that he was thinking about asking for ear plugs) before he was left alone to settle in his new quarters. It was nice, like the rest of the castle, though it was heavily adorned in blue and rather plain-looking. Oh well, he wasn't exactly here to entertain himself now was he?

... Not that it stopped Kaiba from getting rather bored with this quickly.

"Master Kaiba, the lord of the house would like a word with you!"

What in the world was that girl babbling about now? An irritated blue gaze was turned on the door as he saw the girl entering again, but only for a brief moment did that look flicker into one of surprise when he saw a second figure behind her. Tall, blond, stupidly-long blue coat (this outdid even his most outrageous trench coats in both length and the way it seemed to remain suspended in the air) and a pointed silver helmet. Oh, he couldn't forget the ridiculously long and bulky sword strapped to his back, but the most alarming feature was the fact that he was glaring at him with intense indigo eyes.

Which was just plain bizarre because he didn't remember ever meeting this one or seeing any warrior types (other than the obvious) at the court with him. Apparently the fact that he existed was enough to warrant a death wish here. Whatever, like they _could_ kill him.

"So you are my cousin's guest, the supposed chosen leader of the Dragon Tribe, correct?"

"And it's any of your business why?"

There, now the tall guy had a reason to be pissed at him. Somehow, that made Kaiba feel a bit more secure sitting where he was, knowing that this Duel Monster actually had a reason for his anger. It seemed to take him a couple of seconds to find the right words before he started at Kaiba again, "To think that someone as obnoxious as you is staying in our abode and imposing on our hospitality is enough to give even the fiercest fiends horrible nightmares."

"I could continue the banter but it isn't worth wasting my time or breath. Get on with it and say what you have to say, pretty boy," Retorted Kaiba, his signature smirk making its way onto his lips while he saw the other man's face flush with anger. It was really too easy to get to these people, it was almost boring. At least, that's what Kaiba thought until he found that the over-large sword from earlier had the sharp end against his throat. So much for his entertainment.

"I care not what my dear cousin says, but you will listen closely; hurt her in any way and your remains will be thrown to the beasts, who I should mention have not eaten for at least a week," Out of the corner of his eye he saw the other man narrowing his eyes at Kaiba even more. Without even waiting for the other man to speak again however Kaiba pushed the sword away and got to his feet.

"That's enough, Aiolos," Immediately the woman raced in, sternly glaring at the tall blond (who stared at her before he put away his sword obediently) and standing in the middle of the room, "Rayna, please escort Aiolos to the library. I will join the two of you shortly to discuss things in more detail."

It was surprising, just how quickly the two duel monsters followed her order before her chesnut-gaze turned back onto Kaiba, "My apologies, Kaiba. My cousin Aiolos is usually far less... Aggressive than he just was, considering his title as the Silent Swordsman. I will make certain that he will no-"

"What's your name?" The question stopped the woman to stop talking mid-sentence in favour of staring at Kaiba, seeming surprised for the second time that day. Oh well, that wasn't his problem, how many times this crazy woman chose to act shocked in a single day, "I doubt you want to be referred to as the crazy-ass monster who dragged me here in the first place all the time."

"No, of course not," The woman chuckled at the comment, cracking a much softer smile than she wore in the hall as she approached Kaiba. Almost to the point where she was uncomfortably close, but once she had sat down beside him the distance didn't seem so small. At long last, she spoke again, revealing the answer Kaiba was currently seeking, "I am Korynn, the Black Luster Soldier and current head of the Warrior Tribe."

"Seto Kaiba. Finally, a formal introduction," It was almost irritating, how amused this woman seemed to be with him. A growl seemed to signal the woman to stop and she looked at him, which left him open to say, "So, you said you'd give me some answers when I had met with the elders. Care to start explaining just what the hell is going on?"

"I did promise you some answers, true," Korynn sighed, taking a seat at the ornate desk in his room and looking him in the eye, "Now's a better time than any. I'm going to tell you the history of both the Dragon and Spell Caster clans... Along with why war might be nothing short of inevitable, despite your arrival or any other attempt to stop it."


	3. Adjustments

Okay guys, chapter 3 is here! From here on in I'm going to attempt to update on Fridays but, well, we'll see how I manage to work the story. Thanks for your patience, and well... Yeah. There isn't much for me to say in the before-story blurb, other than to explain that there are a couple of characters that will be appearing in this fic that don't belong to me. They belong to **Dark Magician Girl Aeris** and are being used with permission. This chapter the character who appears is Shepu the Dark Magician Girl, and although she technically appeared in chapter 2 she is making her full debut here. Enjoy Aeris, and hope that I haven't butchered her to pieces. So, without further adieu, on with the fic! Stay frosty, readers!

* * *

"Back up," Kaiba growled angrily, feeling his entire form bristle while he forced his harshest glare onto Korynn, "You mean to tell me that you've taken me from my home to ask me to prevent a war, then turn around and say that it might be impossible?"

"Sadly, that is correct," Replied Korynn, hands folding rather noisily in her lap (due to her armour) while she made herself comfortable sitting on the bed beside Kaiba, "The truth is that you are the last hope of stopping the imminent war that threatens us all. It was either put our last hopes on your shoulders or let inevitable carnage take hold. This way, at least we're fighting back."

"Don't tell me there's some sort of prophecy bull shit involved in this."

"There isn't."

"Good," Korynn smiled weakly at him when he had said that, Kaiba already having shifted so that his arms were crossed over his chest and he was sitting comfortably. At least this wasn't cliché enough to make him gag... Otherwise, it would have been a worse plot than what he had come up with for the first virtual world draft, "Then I'm listening so get on with your history or whatever already."

"Right... Well, I could start from the very beginning, but I have a feeling you're only interested in the important details right now," A sigh and Korynn became steel-faced (something that nearly caused Kaiba to shudder from the shiver it sent up his spine but he managed to hold it in), her tone now grave as she began her tale, "As you can probably tell, those of the Dragon and Spell Caster tribes never really got along. In fact, until the immortal King Exodia appeared nearly ten thousand years ago, the two tribes were always at constant war, with the other tribes choosing their allegiance based on nothing more than who was more likely to win at each instance. The only true exception to this was the Warrior Tribe, who would often be torn in two as we, as a whole, are fond of both. It was only when King Exodia appeared that an uneasy treaty was formed, building the world you see around you today."

"Occasionally, some dragons would become vicious and attack the towns due to lack of food in their own territories. The four Blue Eyes White Dragons-"

"I only saw three in the great hall," Kaiba frowned heavily at Korynn then, who paused and frowned at him. What surprised him was how dark her features suddenly became, and it was that look that caused him to shift away from the woman slightly when he dared to speak again, "That's a story for another time. What the hell is going on now is what we're talking about now."

"Thank you," Korynn turned slightly away from Kaiba then, eyes narrowing at the floor slightly while she did so. She didn't say another word on that subject for the moment but instead continued from where she left off, "The four Blue Eyes White Dragons, being the leaders of their tribe, were successful in most of their attempts to stop their kin from reaching the city and showing them where food could be found elsewhere, but some did slip through every now and then. The first to stop the dragons and try to reason with them to hunt for their prey elsewhere were always the Warriors, for they contained powers both to support and hinder the dragons. If they failed, it was their duty to otherwise stop the rouge dragons through whatever means they could. The Spell Casters were always given the task of dispatching the dragons should they have been too violent for the Warriors to overtake themselves. As rare as this scenario was... It happened once, thirteen years ago when I had just barely gained my title."

Her eyes flashed briefly, Kaiba noted, but he said nothing as Korynn continued the tale. He would have to ask about that later, but even he knew that now wasn't the time for something like that.

"For centuries this worked, the Blue Eyes White Dragons attending the council in rotation and listening to new laws and business passing in the realm. However, as of late... What seems to sting at least one of them is the fact that their opinions no longer seem to matter. Because of the previous actions their kin had made against the other duel monsters over the centuries, they had been silently labelled as a menace, a second class tribe whose words would fall on deaf ears whenever they were spoken. That is why they wish to overthrow the Spell Casters; they wish to receive the respect their tribe once had again, even if it means forcing the Spell Casters down to the same status they now possess."

"It is sad but true, and I can't particularly say I blame their resentment towards the Spell Casters for this. But, the Spell Casters refuse to give up their tribe's influence, even a little, to the Dragons. Over time, they have gotten so used to governing the rest of us that they don't see change is needed to prevent the growing grudge the Dragon Tribe is holding against them. That... Is why you are here."

"So I'm here so I can stop gigantic winged lizards-"

"They would take great offense if they heard you say it like that, Kaiba."

"Like I care, they're not here now," Korynn smiled weakly as Kaiba continued to give his interpretation on things, "I'm here to try to stop the Dragons from pulling a coup de tat of the Duel Realm and give their tribe the respect and power they deserve through more peaceful means. If it's even possible."

"That would be the simplest way of putting it," Sighed Korynn as she got to her feet, walking towards the door. She paused, however, to turn back to look at Kaiba with her expression soft and almost in agony, "But for the moment, you're here to become used to us and our way of life. To the point where you no longer think we all belong in the nut house."

"Like that'll ever happen," The sarcastic comment was out before he could stop it, but the one thing he was thankful for was that it actually made her smile as opposed to her threatening him at the point of a sword. Well, at least the one he was living with seemed to have a sense of humour. That would mean he wouldn't be decapitated if he somehow offended her, at least not right away.

Something just felt wrong, all of a sudden. All of this craziness was sucking him away from his life for... How long? Exodia said two weeks, and who knew how long the trials took...

Wait a minute.

"Is there something troubling you, Kaiba? You just went rather pale..."

"Mokuba."

"Mokuba? ...Oh, your little bro-"

"You expect me to leave my home my company and my _little brother_ alone for over two weeks?! If I had known just what you were getting me into-"

"Calm down," Kaiba didn't know what it was, but that icy glare of Korynn's was enough to make him nervous. Especially since he was supposed to be the intimidating one. It was the sword, it had to be the sword, "I know this may be difficult to believe but I've pulled some strings with the Spell Casters Council. As we speak they're working on a spell to send you back to the moment you left your world and entered the Realm. It will be like you've never left."

"You can't be ser-"

"I am, now relax. I've to attend to my cousin right about now, so why don't you ask Rayna to show you around the city? I'm sure you will find at least one thing that will catch your interest."

Kaiba was still glaring at Korynn's back when she left the room, waiting for her to close the door before allowing himself to close his eyes and release an aggravated sigh. This was far beyond frustrating, this world filled with Duel Monsters. It sounded like a bad dream – No, it _was_ a bad prank that Pegasus was pulling. He just couldn't find a way out of it yet but he damn well would. Yes, that was the most logical explanation. There was no way possible this magic crap was all real, so it had to be a joke.

What could he do with all of this until he could leave then? The teenager was lying down on the plush covers then, looking up towards the ceiling while he pondered several options in his mind. He could go and get himself 'killed' in order to leave, just say game over then and there. Hm... Or, he could just go along with this for a while and entertain himself as well as spoil the joke for that crack-pot American. Tempting... Yes, it was tempting. He had to admit that he was a little bit intrigued to see how this world worked for himself, to see everything through his own eyes. Even if it was just some crazy practical joke...

Looking around this place could possibly give him ideas on how to improve the Virtual World 3.0. It'd be a shame for Mokuba to have to wait to see all of his brilliant ideas, but now he was curious enough to play this out to the end.

The sound of rapid footsteps caught his attention and Kaiba just barely had enough time to sit in an upright position again when he saw the Crimson Sentry opening the door, grinning from ear to ear, "Miss Korynn just told me that you wanted to take a tour of the city! I'd be more than delighted to take you now if-"

"I'm going alone," Growled Kaiba, immediately getting to his feet and making to close the door right in the creature's face, "Now leave me alone. I'm taking off these ceremonial robes or whatever the hell they are and I _don't_ want an audience."

He could hear that girl whimpering while he changed, but it didn't matter; he wasn't about to have her chattering away in his ear for hours on end when he could damn well figure things out on his own. Even in a crazy, twisted prank like this he could do things himself. At least that Korynn woman had the decency to bring his clothes back to this place with her, otherwise he'd be stuck wearing the curtains all day long. Or worse, something would steal the curtains so he'd be stuck in this stupid room the whole time. Which was bad, seeing as it didn't seem to have any sort of lock...

His clothing replaced and white trench coat adjusted accordingly, Kaiba looked out the window of his newly dubbed room and took in the view from here. Not quite like the palace room's, but it was still good. There was a library in view, the ornate structure could only be as such... All right, that would be the first place he'd go. It was time to see just what Pegasus's little charade had in store for him.

On the streets, there were a lot of duel monsters to look at, and Kaiba even ended up admitting that the costumes were comparable to the holograms that his duel discs and duel fields produced in terms of quality and realism. All he could really do was damn that man for putting such work into an elaborate prank; if it was Kaiba working with all of this, it would have made Kaiba Land much more interesting. Hm, he'd have to log that idea for later, since it'd be something to take home from all of this once this was over. After he was done completing his plans for Pegasus' bloody demise. However, what had captured his attention was that, while some of the monsters were in the costumes so familiar to him... Some of the more humanoid monsters wore casual clothing. That was a bit strange, but it was more than likely either a botch-up or a strange way of trying to convince him that this place was real. That idiot Pegasus didn't even know how to make a fantasy duel monsters world correctly, really...

Though, he couldn't help smirk a little when he spotted a Vampire Lord hiding in a cloak while he was going shop for stuff, said creature withdrawing his hand as soon as the sunlight hit his skin. Vampires didn't sparkle, go figure. You knew an idea was bad when even that insane buffoon Pegasus didn't go along with it.

It took some time to reach the library with all of the monsters and buildings to look at. It was almost medieval, and yet modern. There was no electricity by the looks of it, but then again Pegasus probably had everything that needed it run on batteries so Kaiba wouldn't catch on. Prick. The moment he had entered through the library doors it was almost as if he had accidentally stumbled away from Pegasus's joke and back into the real world... Except there were duel monsters around here too. Argh, he was going to murder that man so many times over when he managed to get out of here for real.

But, soon enough, he managed to find one of the largest 'history' textbooks he could find and found a table to sit at. And he would have been content to remain there pouring through what Pegasus had cooked up alone... But, one of the actors decided to come and bother him. It was the Dark Magician Girl from the main hall; the tell-tale costume, ridiculously voluminous blond hair and pink spots under her bright green eyes, those were things he could spot from a mile away. He had seen Yuugi dueling with the thing enough times that it'd be stupid if he _didn't_ recognize it. However, what intrigued him about this one was that she seemed to feel just as out of place as he did. He had to wonder if this was the one that would spoil the 'surprise' for him. Oh, wait, she was starting to talk to him.

"Hello," The simple introductory phrase was uttered at him, Kaiba just barely raising his head in time to catch the girl sitting in a chair across from him. If this were any place but a library it'd be unacceptable for her to just go and do that, but it seemed like libraries were free territory even in this strange place Pegasus had made. Damned American idiot really knew how to pull this together, even with weird inconsistencies like duel monsters in casual clothing. He continued to stare flatly at the girl in front of him and, thankfully, this seemed to prompt her into speaking more rather than waiting for him, "I heard from Master Sai that... You're from the human world, right?"

Not this crap again... Did they all still honestly think he was buying it? Sigh. Fine, he'd play along, for now, "So what if I am? What difference does it make?"

"It means that we have something in common," The blond frowned a little at him almost apprehensively, and what was really starting to bug him was those piercing eyes of hers. Didn't she have somewhere else to look? "I just thought I should say hello and help you try to get used to-"

"I'm not interested," Kaiba interrupted, closing his book with a sound snap and and making to put it back on the shelf. This actress was starting to annoy him, especially since the Dark Magician Girl was already a notoriously perky duel monster. He hated perky. In fact, it needed to go jump off a cliff and die with a horrible and bloody end.

"No wonder Master Sai seemed so frazzled, you're positively miserable to deal with," The last words of the girl were ones that Kaiba took note of but, at that time, they really weren't worth responding to. Instead he devoted his time to this text book, this time without distraction.

He had a feeling that Korynn hadn't told him everything about what had happened and, according to the Mystical Elf at the front desk, this was the most recent history text available. It took a while but Kaiba found another empty table in the library, taking a seat and opening up the text again. But, as he realized rather quickly, this text wasn't Japanese... It wasn't even a language he recognized. It looked almost like an ancient language, but how old it was didn't matter... What mattered was that, no matter how he tried, he couldn't read it. It wasn't from lack of effort either, he must have spent a good hour trying to comprehend just what all of those weird symbols meant. there were some he figured to be conjunctives and and the like from their frequency of appearance, but other than the illustrations occasionally appearing on the browning pages of the worn book he couldn't determine just what any of it meant. To no end this frustrated him, just not knowing. Whatever garbage language that man had come up with, it was a code too difficult for him to decipher... He needed a key, but until he had that it would be pointless to just keep sitting here.

Again the book was shut and, as if venting his frustrations, he slammed it on the desk in front of the blue-skinned woman. She blinked in surprise at his outburst but he really didn't care, leaving the library soon afterwards and making his way on the path back to that mansion where he was staying. The path was through this park, correct? Yes, it was. But, as he continued, he couldn't help but notice something. That one girl from earlier had started to follow him as he passed her in the park. What in the world did she want now? Did she have nothing better to do on this weirdass set than to follow him around? This continued on for about twenty minutes until, when he was about five or so blocks away from Korynn's mansion he whirled around and, glaring down at the mage girl, asked, "What is so interesting about me for you to follow me from the park?"

"I'm not following you. I'm following him," After speaking the girl pointed to his shoulder and, when Kaiba looked, he couldn't help but jolt a little. Right there was a little animatronic Key Mace, chirping a little at him and blinking almost innocently. Great, Pegasus was ripping off his ideas for this weird prank too. He was almost tempted to flick the fairy off but it continued to chirp, acting almost comically. What the hell was this thing doing? However, it seemed to grab the blond girl's attention as, just then, she started to speak again, "Huh? You're following him because... Really?"

"What is that thing saying?" Kaiba earned himself a confused glance from the Dark Magician Girl before him, but he already knew that he wasn't the source of the confusion, it was the fairy on his shoulder. After a moment, it seemed like she regained the ability to speak and started again;

"I think that... Pyree's saying that he's following you because you're lonely and he wants to cheer you up."

What... The... Fuck. This joke had gone too far, "I'm out of here. Tell your fairy friend that I'm not interested in his help. Or yours."

"You'll need my help more than you think. I came from the human world too, I know what you'll need help with."

"I can take care of things myself."

"You couldn't read the book, could you."

That caused Kaiba to stop and stare at the girl in front of him. How in the world...!? Of course, she was in on this whole prank. Of course she'd know that he couldn't read the book. But, what was really bothering him was how this girl was acting. Wasn't the Dark Magician Girl supposed to be some ditz instead of a sarcastic know-it-all? Not even Pegasus would make a botch-up that bad about his own card game, and especially not with one of Yuugi's trademark monsters. Hmm, he had to wonder if this one would be the one to spoil the whole joke. He'd just have to press and see, but right then and there... He really wasn't too pleased with the comment about his inability to read. For the moment he settled for continuing to glare at that insufferable smirk, waiting for her to start on it again.

"I was right. Look, if you'd stop walking around with that stick up your butt for five seconds I could help you."

"I don't need your help."

"It really looks like you do."

"Why do you want to help me?"

"Because I've been in your shoes. I'm from the human world too so I had to learn all of this just like you'll have to. Call it empathy."

"I don't need it, or you," Kaiba growled, once again turning his back on the girl he could hear sighing behind him. Whatever, he didn't care. What he did care about was that supposed fairy's insistent chirping in his ear, glaring at the blue-clad 'creature' on his shoulder. If he didn't know any better, he'd swear that it was trying to tell him to apologize. And this thing just _would not_ _shut up_. At long last it got Kaiba to stop in his tracks, turning around to face the girl again. He couldn't believe he was doing this... "I'm Seto Kaiba, CEO of Kaiba Corp."

She stared at him for a moment, eyes flicking from the fairy on his shoulder to his face for a while before they rested on him. It wasn't surprising that she was so confused, considering that he was trying to tell her to go away a few moments ago. Finally she nodded and, still seeming a little surprised, she responded, "I'm Shepu the Dark Magician Girl, apprentice of Master Sai."

This seemed to work as, with a final peep, the fairy flew off of his shoulder and landed on the girl's. Even if this was a prank, it was well-constructed... The girl simply nodded and left (although the Key Mace started giving her heck for it as she went), Kaiba giving her a final glance before he finally continued on his way. At least things started to seem more interesting and he found one sane person on the set. She refused to act like the stereotypical ditz the Dark Magician Girl normally was portrayed to be (a plus point, even if he really didn't like dealing with her), so maybe there was a chance he would find another and blow Pegasus' joke wide open.

And, even if it was a great piece of technology, Seto Kaiba was starting to grow a _great_ distaste for that bloody Key Mace.


End file.
